And say, if we’re talking about dreams, what about Dream? As in Morpheus, Onieros, and a thousand other names. This is a creation of Neil Gaiman (and Vertigo/DC comics), an author of really stunning power. These stories are…are… well, phenomenal! Purists will sneer that it’s just a comic book, but it actually won a World Fantasy Award… after which the other writers snippily demanded that the rules be changed so that (sneer) mere comics would no longer be eligible.

The artwork in these graphic novels is stunning and breathtaking. You want art, baby? We got it in spades. Those bound by their prejudices will be unable to see beyond the fact that it is in comic book form, but these stories definitely ain’t for kids.

And this stuff is good. So good, in fact, that I will only read one per year. It’s that good. There simply isn’t anything else out there that comes close to it, and to read more than one per year would ruin me. Too, knowing that there isn’t anything else out there as good as this makes everything else pale by comparison. There is only one Christmas per year, and one Burning Man, and that is as it should be. To have more than one would cheapen it. Sure, he’s got some clunkers. What author doesn’t? If you aren’t putting out some bad ones now and again, you’re not writing up to your full potential.

From this website:“Erudite, allusive, complex and ambitious, SANDMAN is undoubtedly the finest writing the mainstream comic book industry has ever seen. It dares to tell the story of Morpheus, also known as Dream, the Prince of Stories, one of the seven Endless who are not gods, because gods die when men stop believing in them. The Endless are older and larger than gods. Creating his own mythology, Gaiman incorporates all past mythology into his own - some specifically and explicitly, the rest by implication.”

And from this website:“Neil Gaiman's The Sandman was launched in 1989. This extremely popular series was bound into ten collections. Featuring Dream of the Endless, also known as Morpheus, Onieros and many other names, we explore a magical world filled with stories both horrific and beautiful.

What do you need to know to enjoy the series? Only that there are seven brothers and sisters that have been since the beginning of time, the Endless. They are Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, Delirium who was once Delight, and Destruction, the one who turned his back on his duties. Their names describe their function and the realms that they are in charge of.”

5x5 wrote:i thought of this when i first read the theme for this year! and i had been wondering if a delirium costume would be unique or "so DONE" and not original at BM.....

So done? I have NEVER seen anything Gaiman-related at the burn or the website. I had ass-u-me'd that I was (again) laboring on in obscurity, and that no one else had even HEARD of this stuff, and that, once again, only losers (like me) paid attention to it. God, I knew a girl once who would have made a PERFECT death...

And no, I haven't read any of his other stuff, for a lot of reasons. Number one, as I said, I only read one per year, and I'm not done with "Sandman" yet. Number two,.... well, I've been afraid of disappointment. After how fanatical I was about his work w/ Sandman, how could he possibly live up to my expectations? (tho he prolly would) And number three, well,... I'm just not reading much now. With how much I'm working, just keeping up with my periodicals has been something of a challenge.

"All the great villainies of history have been perpetrated by sober men, and chiefly by teetotalers"

thanks for the info... 05 is my first burn! i don't know, around here it seems like so many people are familiar with neil's stuff, or maybe it's just the people i hang out with..... (they either are into him because of comics, scifi, or the tori amos connection!)

his work is brilliant on so many levels! i have the "sandman companion" and keep meaning to reread the whole series (for the third time) along side the book.

the death spinoff, sandman-endless nights, and dreamhunters are all excellent to continue the sandman high.

Morpheus comes from the Metamorphoses of Ovid. He is the son of Hypnos. He has a couple of brothers. He has two gates which dreams pass through one for false dreams and one for true dreams. The charecter Neil Gaimen created is based on this one. Neil tells an excellent story even if it diverges from Ovids tale, bu them again that is all Ovid was doiing also was weaving a tale.

What I find striking is how much Neil used in his charecter Morpheus.

I think that the realm of dream would be excellent for Burningman my question is who would be fiddler's green?